Central New York, Mohawk Valley receive REDC funding

Central New York and the Mohawk Valley are taking home two of the top awards from this year's Regional Economic Development Council awards ceremony.

Central New York secured $86.4 million for the region. This funding will support 112 projects.

One of their main priorities is helping local businesses expand. Marquardt Switches, Fulton Group N-A and Martens Companies will directly benefit.

The Mohawk Valley region was awarded $85.5 million. This award will support 101 projects, including the establishment of a new welcome and opportunity center by the Mohawk Valley Resource Center for Refugees. It will also help fund an upgrade to Brewery Ommegang's hospitality center.

The Neighborhood Center will also get money to build a new addiction treatment facility in Herkimer County. Project leaders say this funding is necessary to get the ball rolling.

"We needed to make sure that we weren't the only ones to see this as a priority," said Sandra Soroka, executive director of the Neighborhood Center, "that the state and our region saw it as a priority too, and so this makes a huge difference in making this a reality."

Few details about this new treatment center have been released yet. The Neighborhood Center hopes to make an official announcement after the new year.

While the North Country and Southern Tier were not named top performers, they're not leaving Albany empty-handed. The Southern Tier region was awarded $67.3 million, while the North Country received $64.9 million.